Today marks the first day of Fall in the northern hemisphere, otherwise known as the Autumn Equinox. Today is also Mom G’s birthday. Speaking of Mom G, she and I took a field trip this past Tuesday to the local botanical gardens. The seasonal exhibit of Chrysanthemums & More just opened.

The breezeway at the entry of the gardens is always dressed up with seasonal pots and flourishes. This time we were greeted by a variety of mums, asters, gourds, and ornamental kale.

The autumnal containers continued through the interior of the gardens. We came across  huge mums referred to as “football mums.” We were told these mum plants continuously had all blooms except one pinched off the plant. This allows the plant to put all of its energy into a single bloom.

The bloom was so huge the plant stalk had to be staked to it could hold up the flower.

Another section of the building was given to a wonderful display of the seasonal plants. Living walls and suspended balls covered in the mums decorated several rooms.

I felt the apples were a unique touch of color.

I was momentarily distracted by this wonderfully Seus-like pine tree. How great are these needles?

The mums displays carried outside into the grounds of the gardens. The exhibit had just began, so many of the mums had just started to open.

The ornamental kale and cabbages were absolutely beautiful. They looked great with the asters.

It seems whenever I visit another garden, I walk away with ideas to try on the Lot. Next year I’m going to grab a few of those cabbages to pair with our mums.